Latest news with #Mahdawi
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
'I am not afraid': Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi freed from federal custody
Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi is free after a federal judge in Vermont ordered his release only weeks after armed Department of Homeland Security agents arrested him. Mahdawi, who was born and raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank, was arrested by federal authorities back on April 14 while he was arriving to a naturalization interview. Since then, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been holding him at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans, Vermont. "I am saying it clear and loud to President Trump and his Cabinet: I am not afraid of you," Mahdawi said told a crowd of supporters after his release. What appeared to be hundreds of people cheered him on as he emerged from a courthouse and cheered, "No fear!" Mahdawi's release, which came after an order from U.S. District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford, comes as other college students like Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk continue to fight for their freedom after being detained by federal agents in recent months. "You might think I am free, but my freedom is interlinked to the freedom of many other students," he said. "What is happening now is a light of hope. Justice Crawford, who ruled to release me against all of the heinous accusations, horrible attacks, chills of speech, First Amendment violations, he has made a very brave decision to let me out and this is what justice is." In a statement to USA TODAY, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that the judge's ruling would not stop the Trump administration from "restoring the rule of law to our immigration system." 'It is a privilege to be granted a visa or green card to live and study in the United States of America. When you advocate for violence, glorify and support terrorists that relish the killing of Americans, or harass Jews, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country," she said. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment on Wednesday. According to court records, Mahdawi was detained by federal agents back on April 14 as he was showing up to an appointment to become a citizen of the United States. A friend of Mahdawi's posted a video online of him being taken from the immigration office by Department of Homeland Security officers and placed in an official vehicle. Mahdawi flashed a pair of peace signs with his hands cuffed in front. He flashed peace signs again after his release on Wednesday. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and others from Vermont's congressional delegation labeled the detention "immoral, inhumane, and illegal," saying the legal U.S. resident should be afforded due process and released immediately. Mahdawi "walked into an immigration office for what was supposed to be the final step in his citizenship process. Instead, he was arrested and removed in handcuffs by plainclothes, armed individuals with their faces covered," they said. According to court records, Secretary of State Marco Rubio justified Mahdawi's detention by saying that his 'presence and activities in the United States would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences and would compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest." Rubio did not elaborate. This story was updated to fix an inaccuracy. Contributing: Reuters Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at and follow him on X @fern_cerv_. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi freed from federal custody
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mohsen Mahdawi, released from Ice custody, graduates from Columbia
Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi, released just more than two weeks ago from federal detention, crossed the graduation stage on Monday to cheers from his fellow graduates. The Palestinian activist was arrested by immigration authorities in Colchester, Vermont, while attending a naturalization interview. He was detained and ordered to be deported by the Trump administration on 14 April despite not being charged with a crime. Mahdawi, 34, who was draped in a keffiyeh, received a standing ovation as he walked across the stage. He blew a kiss and bowed, one video showed. Then he joined a vigil just outside Columbia's gates, raising a photograph of his classmate Mahmoud Khalil, who remains in federal custody. 'It's very mixed emotions,' Mahdawi told the Associated Press. 'The Trump administration wanted to rob me of this opportunity. They wanted me to be in a prison, in prison clothes, to not have education and to not have joy or celebration.' He is one of several international students who have been detained in recent months for their advocacy on behalf of Palestinians. The Trump administration is attempting to deport them using an obscure statute that gives the secretary of state the right to revoke the legal status of people in the country deemed a threat to foreign policy. Mahdawi was released two weeks later by a judge, who likened the government's actions to McCarthyist repression. Federal officials have not accused Mahdawi of committing a crime, but argued that he and other student activists should be deported for beliefs that may undermine US foreign policy. For Mahdawi, who earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Columbia's School of General Studies, the graduation marked a bittersweet return to a university that he says has betrayed him and other students. 'The senior administration is selling the soul of this university to the Trump administration, participating in the destruction and the degradation of our democracy,' Mahdawi said. Related: 'What is left of our democracy?': freed Palestinian human rights advocate warns of US authoritarian rule He pointed to Columbia's decision to acquiesce to the Trump administration's demands – including placing its Middle Eastern studies department under new leadership – as well as its failure to speak out against his and Khalil's arrest. Khalil would have received his diploma from a Columbia master's program in international studies later this week. He remains jailed in Louisiana as he awaits a decision from a federal judge about his possible release. As he prepares for a lengthy legal battle, Mahdawi faces his own uncertain future. He was previously admitted to a master's degree program at Columbia, where he planned to study 'peacekeeping and conflict resolution' in the fall. But he is reconsidering his options after learning this month that he would not receive financial aid. For now, he said, he would continue to advocate for the Palestinian cause, buoyed by the support he says he has received from the larger Columbia community. 'When I went on the stage, the message was very clear and loud: they are cheering up for the idea of justice, for the idea of peace, for the idea of equality, for the idea of humanity, and nothing will stop us from continuing to do that. Not the Trump administration nor Columbia University,' he said.
Roya News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Roya News
Mohsen Mahdawi graduates from Columbia weeks after release from ICE detention
Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi walked the graduation stage at Columbia University on Monday, just weeks after being released from US immigration detention. Mahdawi, a US green card holder, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on April 14 during a citizenship interview. His detention came amid a wider crackdown by the Trump administration on foreign students involved in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. A federal judge in Vermont ordered his release on April 30. Wearing a keffiyeh draped over his graduation robe, Mahdawi was met with cheers from fellow students as he received his degree in philosophy from Columbia's School of General Studies. Later in the day, Mahdawi joined a vigil outside Columbia's gates, holding up a photo of his detained classmate Mahmoud Khalil. Addressing the crowd, he said, 'Neither the Trump administration, nor Columbia University, nor any power in this world will stop us from being and continuing to be humans.' Mahdawi's arrest was one of several targeting international students accused by the Trump administration of expressing 'hostile attitudes' toward the US. The administration has linked such actions to what it calls a zero-tolerance policy on antisemitism, under which a number of foreign students involved in campus protests have faced detention or deportation. A letter signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for Mahdawi's deportation, accusing him of using threatening language toward pro-Israel bystanders. However, video footage from November 2023, obtained by CBS News, shows Mahdawi publicly denouncing an antisemitic remark made by another protester.
New York Post
20-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Palestinian Columbia University protester Mohsen Mahdawi allowed to graduate after being freed from ICE custody
From perp walk to grad walk. Freed Columbia University protester Mohsen Mahdawi was allowed to stride across the graduation stage Monday — just three weeks after being cut loose from an immigration jail. 3 Palestinian Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi walks during the school's graduation ceremony at the School of General Studies in New York City on Monday, May 19, 2025. Anadolu via Getty Images Advertisement The 34-year-old, who was draped in a keffiyeh, paused in the middle of the stage as he listened to some of his fellow grads cheer him on. Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident for 10 years, was nabbed by the feds in Vermont on April 14 during an interview about finalizing his US citizenship. The Trump administration had accused Mahdawi of engaging in 'threatening rhetoric and intimidation' against Jewish students during Columbia's anti-Israel protests. Advertisement He ended up being released by a judge two weeks later — and used his graduation to attack the current administration. 3 Mohsen Mahdawi (L) and Mahmoud Khalil participate in a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia University, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in New York. AP 3 Mahdawi (L) graduated on Monday just three weeks after being cut loose from an immigration jail. Anadolu via Getty Images 'The Trump administration wanted to rob me of this opportunity. They wanted me to be in a prison, in prison clothes, to not have education and to not have joy or celebration,' a defiant Mahdawi said. Advertisement 'It's very mixed emotions.' While the feds haven't accused Mahdawi of committing a crime, they've argued that he and other rabble-rousing students should be deported for beliefs that may undermine US foreign policy. With Post wires
France 24
19-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi graduates from Columbia
Less than three weeks after his release from an immigration jail, the Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi strode across the graduation stage at Columbia University on Monday morning, savoring a moment the Trump administration had fought to make impossible. Draped in a keffiyeh, Mahdawi, 34, paused to listen to the swell of cheers from his fellow graduates. Then he joined a vigil just outside Columbia's gates, raising a photograph of his classmate Mahmoud Khalil, who remains in federal custody. 'It's very mixed emotions,' Mahdawi told The Associated Press. 'The Trump administration wanted to rob me of this opportunity. They wanted me to be in a prison, in prison clothes, to not have education and to not have joy or celebration.' Mahdawi, a 34-year-old legal resident of the US, was detained during an April 14 citizenship interview in Vermont, part of the widening federal crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists. He was released two weeks later by a judge, who likened the government's actions to McCarthyist repression. Federal officials have not accused Mahdawi of committing a crime, but argued that he and other student activists should be deported for beliefs that may undermine U.S. foreign policy. For Mahdawi, who earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Columbia's School of General Studies, the graduation marked a bittersweet return to a university that he says has betrayed him and other students. 'The senior administration is selling the soul of this university to the Trump administration, participating in the destruction and the degradation of our democracy, ' Mahdawi said. He pointed to Columbia's decision to acquiesce to the Trump administration's demands — including placing its Middle Eastern studies department under new leadership — as well as its failure to speak out against his and Khalil's arrest. He said Columbia's leadership had denied his pleas for protection prior to his arrest, then ignored his attorney's request for a letter supporting his release from jail. A spokesperson for Columbia University did not return an emailed inquiry. Mahdawi was born in a refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and moved to the United States in 2014. At Columbia, he organised campus protests, led a Buddhist association and co-founded the Palestinian Student Union with Khalil. Khalil would have received his diploma from a Columbia master's program in international studies later this week. He remains jailed in Louisiana as he awaits a decision from a federal judge about his possible release. As he prepares for a lengthy legal battle, Mahdawi faces his own uncertain future. He was previously admitted to a master's degree program at Columbia, where he planned to study ' peacekeeping and conflict resolution" in the fall. But he is reconsidering his options after learning this month that he would not receive financial aid. For now, he said, he would continue to advocate for the Palestinian cause, buoyed by the support he says he has received from the larger Columbia community. 'When I went on the stage, the message was very clear and loud: They are cheering up for the idea of justice, for the idea of peace, for the idea of equality, for the idea of humanity, and nothing will stop us from continuing to do that. Not the Trump administration nor Columbia University,' he said. The School of General Studies graduation comes two days before Columbia's university-wide commencement, as colleges across the country are bracing for possible disruptions. Last week, New York University announced it would withhold the diploma of a student speaker who criticized Israel's attacks on Palestinians in his graduation speech.
